


Bonding

by Lyledebeast



Series: Poe and Hux Have a Baby [3]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fpreg, Friendship, M/M, Mpreg, Not Canon Compliant, Unplanned Pregnancy, written for I Love Rose Tico week day 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 17:14:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14958743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyledebeast/pseuds/Lyledebeast
Summary: Rose and Finn have news.  It's not news to Hux.





	Bonding

**Author's Note:**

> The fluff is back! This is the last fic I have planned for this series, but you never know. I may have more to say about Poe and Hux negotiating parenthood. With a little help from their friends.

“Babe, it’s going to be fine! Don’t be nervous,” Rose told Finn as they approached the door.  In truth, she was trying to calm herself as much as him.  She had been so anxious all day that she wondered whether fluttering in her stomach could be the first sign of morning sickness.  But so far, she had been lucky.

Currently, she was more preoccupied with Finn’s feelings about the announcement than her own.

“He’s your best friend; he’ll be happy for us,” she had said while Finn was changing out of his fatigues earlier.

He rested his chin on his folded hands, thoughtfully.  “I know Poe will be happy,” he said.  “I’m just . . . I’m still getting used to the idea myself.  If I tell someone else, then I have to . . .” He trailed off, searching for the right words.

“You have to decide if _you’re_ happy for us?” she offered.

Finn exhaled and rubbed his eyes.  “Yeah.” He reached for her, and she gave him her hand.  “I’m sorry, Rose.  I’m sorry I’m like this.”

“Don’t be!” She sat down next to him, keeping his hand in hers.  “Listen, I don’t want to rush you.  I know this is a big deal, but we don’t have to tell them tonight if you don’t want to.  We have all the time there is.”

Finn’s eyes met hers, and his lips relaxed into a smile.  “Really?”

Well, not all the time there is, Rose thought to herself, but she returned Finn’s smile and nodded.

They were mostly quiet for the duration of their walk across the base.  Rose decided to take it as a good sign.  Perhaps Finn was deciding how he would break the news, rather than whether he would or not.  She was forming a different plan.  It would be too nerve-wracking to try to make small talk with Poe over drinks when she was nearly ready to burst with excitement and anxiety, and she did not intend to try.  The last two times they had made this visit, she’d had the same mission, and so far she had failed.  This time, though, she was going to be persistent.

She took hold of Finn’s hand as reached up to knock, reminding him of what Poe had told them.  Stepping forward, she eased the door open.

“Finn? Rose? Is that you?” Poe called from the kitchen.

“It’s us,” Finn replied, and no sooner had he spoken than Poe emerged, holding his tiny daughter in his arms.

“Here, take Shara,” he said to Finn.  “I thought she would sleep, but she had a different idea.  I’m afraid dinner will be a little late.”

Shara had been clinging to her father’s shirt, but as soon as she saw Finn her wide blue eyes were fixed on him.  She gurgled with pleasure when he took her in his arms.  Rose smiled.

“How’s Hux?” she asked.

Poe’s eyes went to the sofa as he answered.  “Um, he’s fine.  He’s been sleeping a lot during the day.  Kind of hard to sleep at night when he has to . . . when Shara has to eat every two hours.”

Rose was about to reply when something caught her attention.  Beside the sofa on a small glass table sat a glass half-full of deep purple liquid.  Jogan juice.  Why would someone as fastidious as Hux leave his juice glass in the living room if he was going to try to sleep? He must have left in a hurry.

She turned her attention to Poe again.  “I’m amazed that you’re even trying to cook, as busy as she’s keeping you.”

Poe laughed.  “You thought I . . . ? Oh no, sweetie.  I didn’t cook before I had a baby.  General Organa had this sent to us; I’m just heating it up.  She sent us a few different things, actually.”

That explains the juice, she thought.  “Finn, you had better help him,” she suggested. “I need to use the ‘fresher.”

 He looked at her quizzically.  “I’m not much help holding a baby, am I?”

“That’s more help than you know, buddy,” Poe insisted, passing him on his way back to the kitchen.  “Come on.  You can help me decide which spices to put in the salad dressing.  They’re a mystery to me.”

Rose shuddered inwardly at the thought of the salad dressing Poe and Finn would put together, but the idea was a gift for her plan.  She couldn’t be mad at them.

Picking up the glass, she made her way to the bedroom, rapping gently on the door.

“Hux?” she said softly.  “It’s Rose.  Are you awake in there?”

Slowly, the door creaked open, and Hux peered around it.  His hair was messy and there were dark circles under his eyes.  But in spite of being dressed for bed, he was clearly awake.

“I don’t want to disturb you,” she began, keeping her voice low.  “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.  I haven’t seen you since . . .”

Hux stepped back from the door.  “No, it’s alright.  You can come in,” he said softly, watching the hallway behind her.  She handed him the glass as she went by.

“Here.  You forgot your new mom juice.”

His cheeks flushed as he took it from her.  “Oh. Thank you.  You can sit here.” He indicated a chair by the bed.

“You’ve been hiding from us when we come over,” she observed after she sat down.  “Why?”

“Oh, well . . .” He stretched out on the bed, looking down at himself sheepishly.  “It’s a little embarrassing.”

“What is?”

“I look terrible.”

Rose laughed loud before covering her mouth, fearful of being heard.  “Hux, you just had a baby.  No one is expecting you to look your best.  Besides, Finn and I saw you when we were captured on the Finalizer, remember? You really looked terrible then.”

Nonplussed, Hux considered that.  “I may have done, but at least my nipples weren’t leaking then.”

Before she could stop herself, her eyes dropped to his chest.  The dark blue fabric of his t-shirt revealed nothing, but who knew how many layers he was wearing under it.  Fortunately, her eyes met his before he could notice.

“Surely they’re not leaking all the time.”

“No, but they’re very unpredictable.” His lips curved into a smile.  “This is what you have to look forward to.”

“And many other fun things too, I’m sure,” she said, laughing.

“How do you feel now?”

Rose shrugged.  “Still no morning sickness, but it seems to be taking me longer to wake up in the morning.  I feel . . . distracted.  It’s hard to focus at work, but I’m not sure that’s because of the baby.”

Hux nodded.  “And Finn?”

She sighed.  “That’s the thing.  We were going to tell Poe tonight, but I think he’s getting cold feet.  Which I understand.  I know he’s not sure how he feels about all this, but . . .” she exhaled, frustrated.  “It’s nerve-wracking for me.”

“I’m sure it must be,” Hux replied with a bemused smile.  “Finn sounds like me.  I wasn’t sure.  I don’t think I was really prepared to have a baby until she was here.”

Rose leaned forward, captivated.  “What about Poe?”

“He was excited from the beginning; I think he’s always wanted children.” He paused, thoughtful.  “Not unlike you.”

“Yeah,” Rose agreed.  It was true.  She could remember how badly she wanted to be a mother, even when she was still a child herself.  Making plans with Paige about the families they would have when they were grown up.  It seemed so long ago now.  And so naïve.

“I want to see you and Shara together,” she said, changing the subject.  “It’s seems crazy that Finn and I have seen her twice while you hid in here. I’m curious.”

Hux cocked an eyebrow.  “Curious about what?”

“About what you look like together.  She looks like you, you know.”

He scoffed, dismissive as he looked away.  “She looks like Poe.”

“Well, she has his hair for sure, but she has your eyes.”

When he looked at her, she realized it wasn’t exactly true.  His eyes were grayish green; Shara’s were dark blue.  Still, the resemblance between father and daughter was unmistakable.

“Let’s go and see what Finn thinks.  It’s been so long he’s probably forgotten what you look like.”

“I doubt that,” Hux snorted in reply, but to her surprise he got up, reaching for the hem of his shirt to pull it off.  “Just let me change and we’ll . . . oh wait, first I want to show you something.  That cream you gave me.  Do you remember?”

Rose remembered offering Hux the stretch mark cream for his belly months ago.  She could also remember his outrage at her daring to presume that he had such a thing.  So she was ill-prepared when he lifted his undershirts, of which she counted two, to reveal his still swollen belly.

“You see?” he asked, indicating the pale pink lines along the sides.  “Poe applied it every day, and I still look like a pasty Darth Maul.”

Rose snickered, covering her mouth to hide the sound.  “I’m sorry, Hux.  They really don’t look that bad.”

He narrowed his eyes, skeptical.  She added, “I’m glad you’re feeling less self-conscious about it, though.  That’s what I’m dreading most.”

“The huge belly?”

“That and people staring at it.  Trying to touch it.”

Hux’s eyes widened.  “You think people will touch it?” he almost whispered, horrified.

“Well, it happens sometimes.  People forget it’s still part of you.” As she spoke, she recalled that Hux had spent almost all of his pregnancy in this apartment, leaving only for appointments.  Given that he was still under semi-house arrest for most of the nine months, the timing was rather fortunate.

“Bite them!” Hux cried.  “That will make them behave.”

Rose laughed.  “I can’t just go around biting people.”

Hux went to the dresser and pulled out a clean black shirt.  “Well, you bit me,” he reminded her as he tugged it over his head.  “That was effective enough.”

“That’s true.  You haven’t tried to have me executed since.”

“See?”

She stood, smiling up at him.  “I’ll give it some thought.  We had better go out there now. 

Remember, if Finn breaks the news, make sure you act surprised.”

“Of course,” he replied with a smirk.

* * *

Shara seemed perfectly content in Finn’s arms, smiling as he talked to her.  When she caught sight of her birth-father, though, she began to wiggle, fighting against her restraints and reaching out to him with her now free arm.  When Finn kept his seat, she vocalized her disapproval.  Loudly.

“Here,” Finn said in a near panic, standing and holding the baby out to Hux as he came towards them.  “I think you had better take her.”

“Do you want Daddy, darling?” Hux cooed, wrapping his arms around her.  Rose watched Finn’s eyes widened in surprise.  If Hux could see him, perhaps he would regret his decision. Fortunately, he seemed to have eyes only for his daughter.

“That girl has some lungs,” Finn observed.  “My ears are ringing.”

“Well, that should hardly surprise you, Finn,” Hux said sweetly.  “You know where she gets it.”

Rose couldn’t contain her laughter as Finn’s mouth fell open to match his eyes.  He was looking at Hux as though he had never seen him before.

She sat down on the sofa, patting the seat beside her.  “Come here, babe.  You must be tired from holding the baby.”

“What? Oh, no,” he replied as he sat beside her.  “It was fine.  She was so quiet until . . . she wasn’t.”

“She must like you.”

Finn looked up as Hux spoke.  Shara was perfectly still apart from her mouth, open wide in a yawn.  Her little outburst had exhausted her. How quickly an infant’s mood could change, Rose realized.  It was a good thing she was seeing this first with someone else’s child.  For Finn, too.

He was quiet, considering Hux’s words.  “You think so?”

He nodded.  “Oh yes.  As you see, she has no trouble expressing her feelings.”

“Okay guys, I think the food is ready,” Poe said, sounding relieved as he entered from the kitchen.  “The salad tastes a little funny.  Maybe nutmeg and mint wasn’t the best choice, but we’ll make do.”

“Hey, Poe?” Finn called. “Come in here for a minute.” His voice was soft but determined.  Rose felt her heart race when he reached for her hand.

“Yeah, buddy.  What is it?”

He looked a bit nervous as well, and Rose hoped neither of them would notice the sly smile creeping across Hux’s face.

“Poe.  Hux.  Rose and I have something we want to tell you.”

 

 


End file.
